Bradley Manning Court Martial Update

The court martial of Bradley Manning recessed on Wednesday after three days. Because the court room testimony is proceeding quicker than anticipated, the next of the government’s 141 witnesses will not be available until Monday. Lawyers and activists alike welcomed the break, except for a few who had planned to attend the court martial on Thursday and Friday.

The first three days of Bradley’s court martial featured testimony from computer forensics experts, infamous hacker Adrian Lamo (who turned in Bradley to Army intelligence after chatting online with Bradley), and a parade of Army witnesses who were his instructors, supervisors and co-workers in intelligence gathering in Iraq. The court proceedings arguably were to Bradley’s advantage. His lawyer David Coombs elicited testimony that undercut the aiding the enemy charge as well as other attempts by Army prosecutors to cast Bradley in an unfavorable light.

The virtual media blackout of the prosecution of Bradley Manning has ended, with the beginning of his court martial. You can find tons of media coverage here and a very interesting article in New Yorker.

VFP Board member Gerry Condon, who is anchoring VFP’s presence at Fort Meade, reports being interviewed by a dozen radio stations in the U.S. and abroad. This is a BIG story around the world, and many foreign reporters showed up for both the court martial and the rally that preceded it.

Ward Reilly is misidentified as Bob Meola of the Bradley Manning Support Network.

Eisenhower Chapter Gives HERO OF PEACE Award to Bradley Manning

At the Monday morning vigil outside of Fort Meade, just prior to the beginning of the historic court martial, the Eisenhower Chapter of Veterans For Peace (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina) presented a Hero For Peace award, in the form of a beautiful plaque, to Bradley Manning. Eisenhower Chapter president John Heuer who serves on VFP’s Board of Directors, presented the award to Jeff Paterson of the Bradley Manning Support Network. The award will be passed on to Bradley through his lawyer, David Coombs.

The plaque reads as follows:

When the violence of war kills the innocent, our shared humanity cries out against the brutality. When the deceit of war attacks truth, our shared hope for justice compels some to testify and all to listen.

We count as heroes of peace, those willing to sacrifice themselves to save the innocent, those willing to suffer from lies to reveal the truth, those willing to be condemned by criminals for disobeying them, and those willing to be persecuted to stop the brutality.

These are the deeds of Bradley Manning.

Monday Morning Vigil at Fort Meade

A vigil will take place outside the front gate of Fort Meade on Monday morning, when the court martial resumes, and every Monday morning thereafter, beginning at 7 am. A Friday morning “visibility action” is also being planned.

VFP members will join in the Bradley Manning contingent of the Gay Pride Parade in Washington, DC this Saturday, June 8. The Parade begins at 4:30 p.m. from 22nd St. & P Sts. NW.

Contact in advance for details for the contingent meeting time and location: 206-499-1220.

VFP’s Smedley Butler Brigade will march in the Boston Pride parade this Saturday,June 8, with the message “Free Bradley Manning.” They invite other chapters to join them. Assemble between 10;30 am and11 am at the corner of Boyleston and Exeter streets (one block from the Copley T station). For more information, email Pat Scanlon at patscanlonmusic@yahoo.com.